Hi All: Please go through literature review and some recent research on Reconfigurable Manufacturing Execution System. Your opinion and feedback appreciated.. Thanks, Kalpesh

1. A Reconfigurable Manufacturing Execution System
Kalpesh Munot
Industrial Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
Abstract: both changes in the scope of function and in the
quantity structure, must be easy to map out in the
Fierce market competition forces enterprises and MES. To reach this goal, the MES should be able to
manufacturing systems to organize the manufacturing
resources dynamically to react to perturbations of reconfigure resources to respond to those changes
market quickly. Today, particularly in production dynamically according to the changes of productive
management, the aim of increasing transparency, tasks and manufacturing environments.
responsiveness, and cost efficiency means that new
paths must be taken and increases efforts applied to In this paper, a critical review is conducted on the
measure which have already been introduced. One tool RMES and relevant technologies. In section 2, the
which supports these objectives is called the
Manufacturing Execution System (MES). As the characteristic of the current manufacturing
bridge between shop floor level and control level, MES environment is overviewed, and the key
should be flexible, adaptable, reusable and extendable. requirements for new generation manufacturing
To meet these requirements, two-fold hybrid multi-
systems i.e. MES are described. In section 3, the
agent control architecture, which takes advantages of
distributed and decentralized control architecture, and challenges faced by current manufacturing system
the functions of each agent are introduced. In this described. In section 4, the paradigm of the RMES is
paper reconfigurable MES (RMES) is introduced, put the emphasis on. The definition of an RMES is
which is combination of reconfigurable manufacturing
cell and blackboard architecture. Blackboard
discussed. Few critical issues, while implementing
architecture is similar to carpenters toolbox, which has RMES are reveled. In section 5, software and
many tools useful for many different operations, but communication strategy discussed. However, paper
needs only few of them at one time to execute task. is concluded in section 6, along with summary and
some identified future research guideline.
1. Introduction: 2. Requirement of manufacturing environment:
Manufacturing execution system (MES) have been
developed some years ago to fill gap between shop
floor information, control systems, and IT-based
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system [1]. The
primary goal of a MES is provide an information
system that can be used for optimizing production,
assembly, managing and controlling activities in a
manufacturing facility with focus on real time
response to changing environments. As is generally
known, the only constant is change. If we follow this
maxim, which applies somewhat for modern
production, scalability is another important
requirement of the system architecture of the MES Figure 1: Manufacturing System
in addition to platform independence. On one hand,
the system must be adjusted as precisely as possible A manufacturing system transforms raw materials
to the requirements of the customer, and on the into products. Its ultimate objective is to gain value
other, changes in the production structure, that is, such as profit, reputation, and market share. An
enterprise can survive only if this objective is

2. achieved appropriately. Manufacturing environment MES (Fig 2) provides the execution and tracing of
has a great impact on the performance of a the manufacturer’s planning and current station of
manufacturing system. Dedicated manufacturing all the resources (including people, equipment,
lines (Fig 1) are based on inexpensive fixed material, production and the requirement of the
automation and produce a company’s core products suppliers, and customers) [3]. MES emphasizes the
or parts at high volume. Each dedicated line is information transfer between the production layer
designed to produce a single part at high production and the business layer and optimize the production
rate. These types of lines are cost effective as long processes of the whole enterprise through
as demand exceeds supply and they can operate at information integration. The successful
their full capacity. But with increasing pressure from implementation of MES in the actual production has
global competition, and over capacity built brought the great benefit for the enterprises. The
worldwide, there may be situations in which traditional MES, which is developed for the
dedicated lines do not operate at full capacity. Also, changeless business process of a certain industry or
current environment has some critical requirements enterprise, can’t accordingly remodel the function
for a manufacturing system. These requirements are with the change of the business process. Because the
briefly summarized by different researcher and traditional MES can’t be modified and extended
summarized as follow [2]. easily, it won’t work when it is installed to the other
production environment or the organization structure
a. Short lead time: product led time affects the
and business process was change. However, with the
performance of a manufacturing system in numerous
globalization of the manufacturing market in the 21st
ways (Smith and Reinertsen 1997)
century, many enterprises are being faced more
b. More variant: A product becomes versatile and
fierce market competition, more uncertainties from
customized. Versatility implies a product needs
the buyer’s market and deficiency in technology. In
more components for additional functions and
order to survive in this market, and achieve above
features. Customization means a product has options
mentioned requirements, they must have better
for individual choice (Tseng and Du 1998, Fralix
flexibility and reconfigurability on their product
2001)
manufacturing, business structure and process.
c. Low and fluctuating volumes: As market is shared
However, the reconfigurability of the manufacturing
by global competitors, the required volumes of many
system can’t be achieved if MES of the
products are falling.
manufacturer isn’t dynamically reconfigurable.
d. Low price: The product price is a primary features to
most of the customers. Global market offers 3. The challenges:
customers with more windows to purchase low-price
The need and rationale for reconfigurable
products with same quality and service.
manufacturing execution system (RMES) arises
from unpredictable market changes that are
occurring with increasing pace during the recent
years [4]. Following are the few challenges facing
by today’s manufacturing industries.
 Increasing frequency introduction of new products
 Volatile demand of customers
 Required customization for every product
 Change in government regulation
 Uncertainties in the job shop environment
 Changing business process
 Inoperative heterogeneous database, weak
Figure 2: Manufacturing Execution System integration
 High cost of dedicated MES solution [5]

3. Existing MESs lacks the capabilities of adaptability, expandability and reconfigurability into system
reorganization and configuration and is unable to before implementing. The RMES is designed to
appropriately adjust their system architectures and cope with situations where both productivity and the
functionalities following the changes of enterprises ability of the system to react to changes are of vital
business and organization, thus hindering the wide importance.
adaptation of MES software [6].
The main problem faced by enterprise is their use of
With reference to the idea of component design, this fixed hardware and fixed software. For example,
paper puts forward a Reconfigurable Manufacturing only part programs can be changed in machine level,
Execution System (RMES), defines its functional but not the total software control architecture.
architecture, and focuses on the operation control However, providing reconfigurable software and
mechanism and component of RMES. hardware by providing modular, open architecture
controls that aim at allowing reconfiguration of the
4. Concept and Design of Reconfigurable
controller; and in machine hardware level, modular
Manufacturing Execution System (RMES):
machine tools that aims at offerings more machining
options. Reconfigurability at lower levels mainly
achieved by changing hardware resources, and
reconfigurability at higher levels is mainly achieved
by changing software resources and by choosing
alternative methods or organization structures by
flexible people. However, usually they work
together so that system reconfigurability can be
maximized cost effectively. RMES characteristics
include ‘Modularity’, ‘Scalability’, ‘Integrability’,
and ‘Convertibility’. Modularity implies that both
software and hardware elements are modularized.
Scalability means system is scalable in terms of the
product volume. Integrability means system and its
components are designed for current as well as
future expansion and needs. Convertibility allows
quick changeover between existing products and
quick system adaptability for new technology.
Figure 3 shows typical RMES scenario. The studies
on the hardware and software system are
Figure 3 RMES Architecture summarized in the following sections.
Functional architecture of RMES is as shown in Fig a. Reconfigurable machining system: New class of
3, which is one of the most effective paradigms to modular machine tools has been studied at the
meet manufacturing requirements. RMES is defined University of Michigan. Modular machine tools are
as a design for rapid change in structure, as well as traditionally used to increase product variants by
in hardware and software components, in order to machine tools producers.
quickly adjust production capacity and functionality b. Reconfigurable fixturing system: A modular fixture
within a part family in response to sudden changes is composed of many basic modules including
in market [7]. Different researcher has come up with locators, clampers and connectors. Some
different definitions for RMES however, there is no reconfigurable fixturing systems have applied
doubt that the RMES concept has been proposed to industrial robots, since industrial robots are flexible
meet the changes and uncertainties of manufacturing and can be programmed for different tasks.
environment, and this objective would be achieved c. Reconfigurable assembly system: Reconfigurable
by reconfiguring available hardware and software assembly systems are usually robotized. Robot can
resources. This can be achieved by incorporating

4. be programmed to work for different task at programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and
different time. The number and types of assembly supervisory control and data acquisition
equipments can be changed to meet requirements of (SCADA) systems, etc.
the products.
The use of blackboard pattern architectures is an
d. Reconfigurable software system: Every possible
effective vehicle for integrating multiple sources of
new requirement can be developed, designed and
knowledge to solve complex problems in wide range
stored to the component library or common central
of application domain. For any workshops,
database. For example providing different layers of
enterprises, new components can be developed
graphical user interface (GUI), for different groups
according to their requirements and registered to the
in the organization, providing customized controls
component library or in common central database.
as per user requirement helps to built reconfigurable
Depend upon requirement of product; it is only
software structure.
necessary to assemble various functional components
from the library on RMES, without any recoding
5. Software component:
needs.
Higher level functionality of the RMES cannot be
To improve the flexibility of the RMES, the Multi-
handled, without different languages and software
Agent System is adopted instead of direct connection
packages. An open software integration platform is
between ground level control systems with MES
required to manage software events in the system and
application. The transfer of business can be realized
passing of information between dissimilar software
simply by changing the interface of the agents. The
modules and between the factory shop floor
respective agents are responsible for the allocation,
components. Web-based database systems and
execution and feedback on MES application system.
applications, mostly designed using scripting model
The multi-agent system includes agents like material
and object oriented programming languages such as
management, production, data collection, quality
Java, C++, and Visual Basic, .Net has definitely been
management, resource allocation, product tracking,
the leading software tools in designing today’s
and operation scheduling agents, and many more
information system for all kind of manufacturing cells.
depending on requirement of enterprise.
The multi-agent based RMES is a self –organizing and
6. Summary:
adaptable system for controlling the production
operations. It therefore becomes important to Global economy competition and rapid social and
introduce the environment in which an agent should technological changes have forced manufacturer to
act, that is the information system of a manufacturing face new manufacturing objective, adaptation of the
enterprise, to see how agent can be integrated. manufacturing system to market condition. To
Traditionally, computer software systems in MES respond to these challenges Reconfigurable
have been designed on three layers. Manufacturing Execution System is needed. RMES
offer capabilities for quick adjustment of production
 The planning layer, including material
capacity and functionality in response to sudden
requirement planning (MRP); its later
changes in market condition. On the base of
development, Manufacturing resource
analyzing the deficiencies of the traditional MES, this
planning (MRPII); and its latest evolution,
paper provides to research the reconstructive
enterprise recourses planning, and SAP.
dimensions and layers of RMES.
 The execution layer, including the MES,
which bridges gap between the planning and RMES paradigm is one of the most effective
the control systems by using on-line paradigms to meet some key requirements such as
information to manage the current application changes and uncertainties.
of manufacturing resources: people,
equipment, and inventory 7. Future work:
 The control layer, including hardware and a. Thought collaborative structure of RMES
software device control systems (DCSs), has been shown, but the detail process of

5. integration between various stages needs to Reconfigurable manufacturing systems. Annals of
be study further. the CIRP, 1999, 48(2).
b. Event based reconfiguration of the
manufacturing cell needs to analyze
further.
c. Since the RMS concept is not a complete
solution for a manufacturing enterprise to
meet all of the challenges, it is important
to take advantage of other technologies in
an RMES, like Six Sigma, Lean
Manufacturing to reduce waste cause by
the portion of the idle resources of an
RMES.
d. The important issue is the granularity of
system modules. It is obvious that the finer
the granularity of systems modules are, the
higher the reconfigurability of system is.
However, one has to make a trade off
among cost, reconfigurability and
complexity of the software system.
References
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Meimouni, “A Distributed Manufacturing Execution
System Implemented with Agents: the PABADIS
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Conference on Industrial Informatics, INDIN’03, pp.
301- 306, 2003
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“Reconfigurable Manufacturing System: The State
of The Art” International Journal of Production
Research, 46, (4), pp. 967-992, May 17, 2007
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Reconfigurable Manufacturing Execution System”.
Proceeding of International Conference of
Intelligent Mechatronics and Automation, Chengdu,
China 2004
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169
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